Zayn Shirt Sew-Along Part 5

Welcome back to the Zayn Sew-Along! I hope you are all ready for today, we are sewing our sides together and hemming the bottom edge! Get ready to sew...

Step 19: To sew the center front, place your right sides together. Match your dots at the waist seam and the bottom hem, as you see in the image below. Remember that the Left Front hem was topstitched in Step 5. So the seam is stitched to the finished hem fold.

​After stitching, finish seam together, all the way to the bottom of the drape.

Step 20: Before you stitch the center back together, finish the center back edge on both the Right and Left Backs. 

Step 21: In the next step, you will match three dots. Note: In order to get the woven Zayn over your head, you must leave the upper portion of the Center Back seam open. With right sides together, matching upper dots, the waist seam dots and the lower dot (not shown below), pin Center Back seam together. WOVEN Once you have it pinned, stitch from the upper dot to the lower dot at the bottom of the Right Back Hem. KNIT This is actually an update to the pattern (which you will see in your account). If you are working with a knit, sew center back seam from top edge to lower dot, matching upper dots and waist seam dots. 

Step 22: Now we are going to finish hemming the garment. We hemmed the Right Front and Back in Step 5. The trick now is to continue that same stitching line across the back drape, so it looks like one continuous hem, instead of two separate stitching lines. KNIT Note: As I mentioned before, I color-blocked my knit Zayn. In order to make the hem less visible, I decided to use matching thread for each fabric. This is a great technique to give a more professional look. See picture below. 

WOVEN and KNIT Note: your hems should either be secured by Fusi-Web or basted. However, if you are concerned about your fabric crawling as you stitch, use a walking foot. This is especially helpful when sewing with a knit fabric. 

​Note: The bottom hem allowance is 1". You will also topstitch the center front and center back seam allowance, which is 5/8-inch, continuously with your hem topstitching. Keep in mind the change in distance. Start by placing your needle at the center front seam, at the end of the previously stitched hemline.You will start stitching at the center front towards the front drape. Keeping in mind the 5/8-inch seam allowance, stop stitching approximately 1/2-inch from center front. Make sure to keep your needle in the fabric!

Keeping in mind your 5/8-inch seam allowance, pivot turning your garment 90 degrees, so you are stitching vertically along the center front seam allowance. Stitch until you are approximately 7/8-inch from the bottom hem fold. You may want to measure and mark the correct distance if you are unsure about eyeballing it. When you get to that mark, stop stitching and place your needle in the garment. 

Pivot again, turning your garment to stitch the bottom hem. Continue stitching the hem along the bottom of the drape. 

​Continue to hem the sides and back drape in the same manner. The trick here is to pivot at each corner, making sure your hem allowance is accurate. Your topstitching will be complete once you get to the center back seam.

Only a few more steps to go before we reach the end of the Zayn! Join us for the next post when we finish our neckline. Until then, if you have any questions, head over to our Sew-Along Facebook Group to ask them. We are happy to help!